Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
After a couple of very hectic days, on Sunday morning, I had the chance to enjoy some down time.
The yeasty smell of rising croissants waiting to be baked greeted me as I walked through the empty house; everyone else was sleeping.
I clicked on an email link my friend Najah had sent me. The title was "36 Hours in Provence." I saw that the video ran 6 minutes long, so I hesitated. Did I have time to watch a 6-minute video.
Yes! I deserved six minutes in Provence, but first I made a cup of coffee and steamed the milk until it was frothy.
Then I took my computer and my coffee to the cool air of the front porch and clicked start. 36 Hours in Provence
Unfortunately, the video is available to upload directly to my blog, so I've captured a shot from the video and included the link here. It's definitely worth your time if you want to long to visit Provence. The video focused a bit too much on "going out" kinds of clubs rather than the gorgeous landscapes and Roman architecture that I'm entranced by, but maybe some of you are looking for hot clubs to visit.
The New York Times also did a video call "36 Hours in Nice" and I can upload that one here.
Grab a cup of coffee and a croissant and join me!
Where would you rather spend 36 hours - Provence or Nice?
Thanks for playing along with Dreaming of France. Please leave a comment and visit each other's blogs, too, so you can get your fix of France dreams.
I'm a fervent football fan, and the NFL draft takes place this week.
That's where professional teams choose college players to join their teams.
Last fall, the NFL made the viewing public a promise, via a series of public service commercials. The NFL joined with NoMore.org, vowing "to say NO MORE to domestic violence and sexual assault."
The public service announcements were prompted by the behavior of players like Ray Rice, who was videotaped knocking out his fiance in an elevator, and Adrian Peterson, who was accused of child abuse after he whipped his child with a switch.
And now, as the draft begins, we wait to see if the NFL supports the No More program, along with these players and former players who stepped up to say there's no excuse for domestic violence or sexual assault. Treating family members or women with violence is not a normal part of growing up, something that drunk athletes should be allowed to do.
And we'll know pretty quickly into the draft whether the NFL stands by its principles because the number-one ranked draft pick is Jameis Winston, quarterback for Florida State University for two years and Heisman Trophy winner in the 2013 season.
Winston was accused of raping a drunk female FSU student in December 2012. The case wasn't vigorously investigated until November 2013 when the press found out about it.
The prosecutor determined not to go forward with charges, even though Winston's DNA was found when the woman underwent rape testing.
It just so happens that a Florida team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have the first-round draft pick this year, and the prediction is that they'll choose Winston.
But whether he's picked first or in a later round, the NFL will have turned its back on the faux public service announcements by drafting a man who already has a murky past with rape.
The NFL could change the announcements to "No More... unless he's a really good football player."
But Winston wasn't found guilty of rape, so the teams can't hold that against him, right?
Well, they can feign ignorance if they want. But the evidence is strong, whether or not the state of Florida was willing to prosecute.
In an extensive New York Times article, Walt Bogdanich breaks down the timeline of the rape and how it was investigated by both the police and the university. The article, "A Star Player Accused, and a Flawed Rape Investigation" points out that the 19-year-old rape victim called a friend within hours of the rape. The friend called 911 to report it (Bogdanich).
This wasn't a woman who saw a football star rise to fame who hoped to get in on some fame or money. She didn't know the man who raped her in December 2012, and Winston wasn't the starting quarterback at that point.
Part of the article is chilling:
After partially blacking out, the woman said, she found herself in an apartment with a man on top of her, sexually assaulting her. She said she tried unsuccessfully to push him away, but he pinned down her arms. Meanwhile, according to her account, another man walked in and told her assailant to stop. He did not. Instead, she said, he carried her into the bathroom, locked the door and continued his assault. (Bogdanich)
Those same roommates admitted that they taped part of the sexual assault, but later erased it.
Pretty strong evidence, huh? I've heard commentators on ESPN say things like, "We all make mistakes when we're young." Rape is outside those parameters of boys will be boys. It's not okay. Ever.
And drafting Jameis Winston means that the NFL was just giving lip service to their vows of No More.
Well, only this time, they may argue, cause he's a really good football player.
If you love football, like I do, then urge your team to skip drafting Winston and send a message that no means no, whether she's drunk, whether she's dressed provocatively, whether she admits she had sex with her boyfriend earlier... You can't rape her and now you face the consequences. No More.
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